


Alluring Enchantments

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: (through song of course), Addi is a siren, Gen, OC belongs to hntrgurl13, and there are people who don't like her choice of pet, someone wants a pet and she wants a human, we got hypnotism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-21 00:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11932851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: In the process of investigating an area of the Bermuda Triangle known for sirens that steal away sailors, Ford and Stan find themselves stuck with one after she takes Ford to be her pet. Reversing the enchantments involved in that is going to be no easy task, especially when Adeline is dead-set on keeping her pet...and may attempt to acquire more.





	1. Acquiring a pet

**Author's Note:**

> This one popped into my head when I saw the Monster Meme art that hntrgurl13 was posting -- specifically, one where Addi was a siren hypnotizing Ford. And...things kinda-sorta escalated from there.
> 
> Just for reference, this and the Puppet AU both give me chills, but the chills from this one are a /little/ different. Mostly because enchantments are easier to reverse than someone tearing one's soul to pieces. :/

Ford woke up to the sound of singing outside the ship. It was...beautiful, in a haunting sort of way. And it almost felt like it was calling out to him, and him alone.

He got out of bed -- quietly, so as to avoid waking Stanley, who was snoring on the upper bunk -- and made his way to the door. By the time he reached it, it felt like he was walking into a  _ dream _ \-- his mind had settled into a hazy fog as a result of the music, his limbs feeling heavier than they normally did.

But he wanted to find where the music was coming from; something pulled him onward.

He found out what when he managed to stumble onto the deck and met a pair of mesmerizing eyes from a beautiful figure leaning over the side of the ship, singing.

She laughed as Ford stumbled across the deck and reached the side of the ship she was leaning over. Vaguely, he wondered where she had come from when there weren’t any other ships in sight and they were nowhere near a port, but then he saw the luminous scales and thought  _ oh. Well that makes sense. _ and accepted it without another thought of  _ why _ she was up against the ship in the middle of the night or  _ why he was drawn to her voice _ .

“It looks like a woke you from a rather restful sleep,” she said, voice melodious.

“It wasn’t all that restful,” Ford replied, sitting down on the deck in front of her. His voice sounded rough in comparison to hers, and he ducked his head.

“Well, that’s a shame.” The woman reached down and lifted up his chin with one hand, running over the cleft with her thumb and an almost fascinated expression. “Perhaps I can make it more restful?” She hummed a little melody.

Ford’s eyes felt heavy, as did the fog on his mind. He felt as though he would be willing to do anything for her, so long as she kept singing. Or speaking.

“I know.” She laughed, and the sound sent wondrous chills down Ford’s spine. “I have a wonderful little place not far from here, safe and away from everything this world has that could cause you trouble or pain. There is air and food there, already waiting for you. You won’t have to worry about anything ever again. How does that sound, hmm? Perfect?”

“Sounds...perfect….” Ford echoed. The fog in his head was making it hard to think. It felt like he was still dreaming.

She laughed again. “Just focus on my face and voice, little pet. My enchantment is almost complete, and then we’ll be there before you know it.”

Something about being called a pet didn’t bother Ford. He was too enamored by the sound of her voice, and even as she started to sing again, that was all he could think about.

In fact, he didn’t notice the tentacles rising up from the sea and wrapping around him until it was too late to even think about fighting back.

He felt tired and...strangely, safe, where he was, held as he was. So he didn’t struggle. If anything, he went completely limp.

The woman grinned as she finished singing, her teeth appearing a bit too sharp for a normal human’s. “And now, you are mine, little pet.”

Ford hardly noticed the teeth. His mind was bound up in a fog; all he could focus on was her eyes, and the song that was now continually playing in his head. “...yours…”

Something was placed over his mouth and nose with long, slender fingers; a mask of some kind, made of coral.

“Sleep, little pet,” came the cooing voice. A hand was run through the graying curls of his hair; Ford leaned into it as his eyes closed. “I will take good care of you.”


	2. Stan Pines makes his voice heard

Ford woke up on a soft bed of coral, the song still running through the back of his mind and dulling his thoughts. He felt like he should be somewhere else, but then the song strengthened.

_ You are home, little pet. Think not of the chaos and hurt above. _

“Nngh.” Ford relaxed into the bed.

He heard a splash from nearby and turned his head, instantly catching sight of the woman who had pulled him from...somewhere...he couldn’t remember. It probably wasn’t important.

“Sleep well, little pet?” the woman cooed from the pool in the small, brightly-lit cave.

Ford nodded mutely, then yawned, causing the siren to laugh as she pulled herself up onto the ledge. Bright golden scales that matched the color of her hair glistened, and she patted her lap.

“Come, little pet,” she cooed.

Ford obeyed, pulling himself from his bed and crawling across the cave floor to slump across her lap like a ragdoll cat. She laughed and began running her fingers through his hair, petting him. Ford didn’t argue against the treatment; it felt...nice.

He felt loose and relaxed and -- with that song constantly bouncing around in the back of his mind -- he felt content. And safe.

“Good, sweet pet.”

The praise felt nice, too. Ford hummed in pleasure at it, getting a laugh in response.

Slightly-sharp nails started to work their way down his back, scratching away places that itched and loosening him up even more. “Do you feel safe, pet?”

“Yes.” Ford kept his voice quiet, soft.

There was another laugh, and Ford felt a kiss get planted on the top of his head, causing him to hum again.

“You are mine now, little pet. And nothing is going to--”

A loud splash came from somewhere else in the pool. “Mistress Adeline! We have a problem!”

**Minutes Ago...**

Stan woke up and noticed immediately that something was wrong.

Ford wasn’t anywhere on the ship -- on deck, below deck, or otherwise.

“What the hell, Sixer?” Stan scratched his head as he stood out on deck, looking around. “Where’d you go off to?” He leaned over the edge of the boat, looking around. “Disappeared off the boat without so much as a note. Stanford, where are you?!”

Ford didn’t normally disappear like this without leaving a note somewhere. The only notes that were all over the kitchen detailed the place they had anchored at and that they were looking into the disappearances of local sailors….

Wait.

Stan wracked his brain for myths and things that ended with sailors disappearing.

The first one that came to mind made his blood run cold.

Stan ran out onto the deck again. “HEY! WHERE’S THE DAMN SEA WITCH THAT TOOK MY BROTHER, HUH?! COME OUT HERE AND GIVE HIM BACK!”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there came a splash from one side of the ship, causing Stan to turn sharply to his left.

A little human head with fins where her ears were supposed to be was staring at him.

“About damn time,” Stan muttered. He stomped over to the kid, who moved back nervously into the water and stared at him from where she treaded water on the surface. “All right, kid. You see anyone who looked like me and with six fingers get dragged off our ship?”

The little blond kid looked reluctant to answer. Then Stan remembered something that had happened over the summer.

“If you don’t, Mabel Pines is gonna be  _ very mad _ that she lost her grunkle,” Stan said pointedly.

The kid’s eyes widened sharply; her little mouth opened in a gasp before she disappeared back underwater.

Stan frowned. He glared down at the water, drumming his fingers against the side of the ship. “If you don’t  _ come back here _ and  _ tell me where my brother is, _ I’m gonna do to this whole damn Bermuda Triangle what I did to  _ Bill Cipher, so help me--” _

Something splashed up from the water again -- another blond chick, but older. She looked more annoyed than the kid did.

“And you are?” she asked coldly.

“The guy who’s mad you took off with my brother,” Stan snapped back. “My niece is gonna tear you all a new one when I’m done with you if you don’t give him back.” He pointed at her accusingly. “So if you don’t mind giving me him back, I won’t call Mabel up and get Mermando and his manatee queen to bring their combined armies down on your heads to let him go.”

“What makes you think I haven’t killed him?” she asked casually.

“I’d rather not think about that,” Stan replied shortly. “Give me my brother back.”

The woman eyed him with dark eyes, considering him. Stan kept his composure as best he could while  _ not _ thinking about how Ford  _ might _ be dead. He drummed his fingers on the railing of the ship, thinking about his brass knuckles and whether or not he should pull them out of his coat and jump into the ocean to deck this chick.

After a moment, she sighed and disappeared under the water, then came back up...and up…and up.

Stan was barely holding onto his composure as he saw the mass of octopus tentacles that made up this chick’s body from the waist down. Well, that was unexpected.

Even more unexpected was that Ford was wrapped up in them, eyes half open and glazed over with some kind of breathing mask over his face. He was also completely limp.

“FORD!” Stan yelled, losing composure with a sense of panic.

“Your brother is fine.”  She came towards the ship and unfurled her tentacles slowly, laying Ford on the deck of the ship and pulling the breathing mask off -- which, now that they were closer, Stan noticed it was made of coral. “I do not treat my pets harshly.”

“Pet?!” Stan glared at her. “My brother isn’t a pet, you--”

Ford groaned, cutting off the string of curses Stan was about to unleash. Stan rushed over and helped Ford sit up as he blinked his eyes open blearily.

The siren folded her arms across her bare chest. “He is mine.”

Ford rubbed at his eyes with both hands and looked around with foggy confusion. He looked at Stan and blinked. “Stanley?”

“Yeah.” Stan hugged him. “What were you thinking, you idiot? What happened last night?”

Ford rubbed at his forehead, brow furrowing. “I...everything’s hazy. I...remember music?”

The siren hummed something, and Ford’s expression went slack and sleepy almost instantly. She settled down onto the deck, tentacles and all, and rested a hand in his hair. He leaned into it instantly.

Stan bristled. “Let him go. Now.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Didn’t you idiots hear me when I said that--”

“I heard you.” The siren turned her gaze on Stan. “But when you were here last night you were just two fisherman who should have known better than to wander into my territory. And now your brother will never be able to wander far from the sea for long -- he will always come back. He will always find me.”

One of her tentacles wrapped around Ford and pulled him closer to the siren. He started to look more like one of those sleepy puppies that had found somewhere safe to sleep. The comparison left Stan’s stomach twisting in knots.

That, and the fact that Ford couldn’t just get back on land and  _ stay there. _

“Well, whaddaya expect me to do?” Stan snapped back. “I’m not just gonna let ya do whatever ya want with my brother.” He pulled Ford away from the siren and gave him a couple gentle knocks to the head, causing Ford to blink rapidly and shake his head as his expression un-slackened and looked confused again.

“I’m not planning on using him in the way that tales claim I will.” The siren raised an eyebrow. “Humans are strange things in this part of the waters -- we don’t see them often, and the ones we do, well...let’s just say you were lucky you didn’t wander a few reefs north of here.”

One of her tentacles slapped against the deck in the sound of a whip-crack. Stan pulled back instinctively as Ford stiffened, looking more awake suddenly.

“And then there are the ones to the south that...well, let’s just say that not even the ships are found afterwards.” The siren bared her sharp teeth.

Stan blinked a couple times, absorbing that, then shook his head and refocused. “Still, we’re not pets.”

“Hmmm….I’d beg to differ,” the siren replied lightly. “But, I can see that we are at an impasse.” Her octopus tentacles gathered under her. “I can’t undo the spell on my pet.”

“His  _ name _ is Ford,” Stan said pointedly.

The siren hummed a little, looking amused. “Then you can call me Adeline.”

Ford’s brow furrowed, and he muttered something under his breath.

“I have decided that I will let you go -- for now. But when you reach land again -- and you will need to -- I will find you.” Adeline moved to the edge of the ship, preparing to jump off. “And I would like to meet this...Mabel Pines in person.”

With that, Adeline dropped off the ship with a rather spectacular splash.

Stan sighed irritably and looked over at Ford. “What the hell were you thinking, letting yourself get tricked like that?”

Ford shrugged. “To be honest, I...don’t really think that I was. She caught me when I wasn’t quite awake -- if I had been, I...I doubt that…” He frowned, then shook his head. “Regardless, I doubt that she’s going to be going after anyone else.”

“I wish she hadn’t gone after  _ you.” _ Stan poked his brother in the chest. “What is it with you and gettin’ dragged off by sea monsters, anyway?”

Ford shrugged again, then paused. “...Stanley, how much longer until the children will be back in Gravity Falls, do you think?”

“A month, probably.” Stan paused. “Wait. This isn’t because--”

“I’m...I’m not sure? I have this...faint feeling of  _ something _ on my mind, but every time I try to focus on it, it...slips out of my grip. It...it’s a song that’s stuck in my head, but every time I try and think about where it came from….” Ford gave his brother a helpless expression as he shook his head.

Stan sighed irritably. “We’ll figure out how to get it out of yer head. Might be some voodoo back in Gravity Falls that could help or somethin.’”

“Stanley, it isn’t  _ voodoo, _ it’s  _ magic,” _ Ford said pointedly. He paused to consider that. “And...yes, there...might be something. We would have to turn around and make our way back  _ now _ if we were going to find a way, however -- I doubt we want to wait too long and find out if this is permanent.”

“Yeah.” Stan started hauling up the anchor. “Might as well get moving, then. An’ call Mabel up an’ see if Mermando can dig anything up on that Adeline chick.”

Ford hummed in agreement. “I’ll chart our course.”

As the two men prepared to turn around and head back towards the west coast of America, neither one of them noticed the bobbing head of the siren behind them.


	3. Fishy Stalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May change the chapter title, may not. I feel the title of this one is apt and amusing, though.

Stan knew that something was up again when Ford came in from the deck for breakfast and was wearing that coral rebreather over his face.

“Disappeared for a midnight swim?” Stan asked dryly.

Ford blinked a couple times, the haze leaving his eyes. He frowned at the rebreather on his face and took it off, then set it on the table and sat down before starting to gnaw on his breakfast -- eggs and pancakes, maybe a tad overcooked but still edible.

Stan put down his fork. “Ford.”

“Hmm?” Ford looked up.

“Midnight swim. Again?” Stan motioned to the rebreather.

Ford sighed, then looked down at his breakfast and started poking it absently with his fork. “I can’t resist it, Stanley. The enchantment’s...rewired my brain somehow. Or-or caused some kind of muscle memory reaction to override anything that I happen to be thinking at the moment or--”

“Hey. We’ll think of something. We’re almost to Gravity Falls; if anyplace is gonna have what we’re gonna need, it’s there.” Stan picked up his fork again. “Now, come on. Eat up. Not exactly gonna be able to do this magic thing on an empty stomach.”

Ford nodded in agreement, then went back to his meal as Stan finished off his and put the plates in the sink. “We should be able to reach Gravity Falls this afternoon. Are the kids already--”

“Two days ago,” Stan replied. “Got a call from ‘em when you were takin’ your nap.”

“Ah.”

“I think Mabel’s torn between thinking your situation’s adorable or terrible.”

Ford’s brow furrowed. “And Dipper?”

“Terrified for you. He’s been digging up myths and books on sirens and it sounds like he doesn’t like what he’s been finding. Nothin’ yet on a reversal spell.”

“Hopefully there will be something in my library that will give us hints as to what could be done.” Ford sighed. “As..grateful as I am that Adeline’s kept the sea monsters in this part of the Pacific at bay, I…I don’t want to think about the fact that I  _ know _ she can pull me under her enchantment at any time and affect the way I think and act with just her voice, and that when she does...nothing else seems important. It’s  _ terrifying.” _

“We’ll figure something out,” Stan repeated. “I’ll take care of steering the ship for a bit.” He moved out of the cabin and onto the deck, patting his brother on the shoulder reassuringly on the way out.

Adeline was leaning over the side of the ship again, near the helm. “Is my pet going to go to sleep?”

“Probably, since you woke him up in the middle of the night. Again.” Stan frowned at her disapprovingly.

Adeline swung herself up to sit on the railing. Instead of the octopus lower half, she had the fish tail that Stan had been expecting to see the first time. “Good. Because I told him to go sleep. I like having him awake when he’s with me.”

Stan grumbled something under his breath that caused the siren to frown. She flicked her tail at him, causing water to sprinkle against his face. He didn’t give her even the slightest hint of a reaction.

She’d done that every few days for the last few weeks; it wasn’t hard to get used to something Stan had grown to expect.

“You’re lucky I’m here to protect my pet,” Adeline said pointedly. “There was a small kraken here last night who wanted to make a snack out of your boat.”

“Uh huh.” Stan double-checked the instruments around the helm. Good weather, good wind, and nothing was being picked up on the sonar. Course, a big thing would end up appearing there later, but Stan was expecting that -- the siren had to go back underwater sometime, and she hadn’t shown that she could grow a pair of legs to stay on the ship.

Not yet, anyway. If she could change from octopus tentacles to a mer tail, she could probably walk around like a human, too.

“I’ll be expecting a thank-you later.”

“Uh huh. Right.”

Stan felt more water get flicked at him. “I mean it, human.”

“Did you really think we wouldn’t have been able to handle that thing on our own?” Stan turned and gave Adeline a pointed look. “My brother’s survived for thirty years fighting off monsters in other dimensions; I spent ten evading the mafia and avoiding getting killed here on land. We’re two grown men who can handle ourselves.”

Adeline frowned at that. “That I find hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s the truth.” Stan turned back to the wheel. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a brother ta get home so that we can reverse whatever ya did to him.”

He was half-expecting the siren to answer, but when he heard the splash off the side of the ship instead, a satisfied grin crossed his face.

Just a few more hours, and they’d be able to get to Gravity Falls and see about fixing Ford’s head.

**Time Break**

Ford knew there was more going on than just the siren’s song constantly running through the back of his mind. When he woke up hours after breakfast, he felt a strange need to be petted that instantly sent a wave of alarm through him.

Adeline’s spell was working its way into the times when he was aware, and if they didn’t do something about it before it became too late--

Ford shook the thought out of his head and pushed himself out of his bunk. It was something that he would have to discuss with Stan and the others, when they were safely back on land and back in the Mystery Shack.

The thought of solid ground under his feet shouldn’t have caused the chill of worry to run down his spine like it did; some part of his mind silently begged him to stay at sea, to let the rocking waves soothe him.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, back to the music it had originated from, and made his way out onto the deck.

Stan was alone on deck, standing at the helm. He looked back as Ford approached. “Glad to see you up. I was about ta go in there and wake you up myself when we hit port.”

Ford grunted in response, looking up and down the coast. The song at the back of his mind tried to make him feel uneasy, but he pushed it out of his focus.

“I hope you didn’t think I was going to sleep the day away,” Ford said instead.

“Well, that siren chick said she was gonna make ya sleep; she just didn’t say fer how long.”

“At least I’m able to choose when  _ I _ want to wake up.” Ford frowned at the sea disapprovingly, and when the song strengthened in his mind, he shuddered.

“Hey. You feelin’ okay?”

Ford pulled back from the railing a couple steps. “I think there’s more going on in my mind than just what she said.”

Stan looked over at his brother worriedly. “Still think we can find that reversal?”

“I should hope so.”

Stan frowned at Ford’s comment, but he said nothing as he brought them up to the docks they were approaching. Three familiar figures were already standing there waiting for their ship to pull up.

Ford dropped the anchor as Stan threw the ropes down and leapt off the side of the ship; only after tying the ship down did Dipper and Mabel leap at Stan for a hug as Ford leaned over the railing on the ship, contemplating leaping off onto solid ground.

The song at the back of his mind once again tried to make him feel uneasy about the idea, but he ignored it in favor of reaching his niblings and leapt off himself.

“Grunkle Ford!” Dipper instantly ran to him. “Are you feeling okay?”

“As...as well as I can be,” Ford replied carefully. He heard a splash somewhere on the other side of the ship and fought to ignore it.

Dipper noticed Ford turn his head slightly at the sound; he took his grunkle’s hand and practically dragged him to the car -- Stan’s old Diablo. It looked like it had been fixed up. “Come on; we can talk about getting that stuff out of your head.”

“An excell--”

Ford winced as the song suddenly went discordant as he left the dock and got onto more solid ground. He gritted his teeth, a part of him wanting to move back and dive into the ocean just so that he could get the damn noise to  _ shut up. _

He felt someone push him from behind as he was forced into the back of the Diablo; Stan sat on one side and Dipper on the other as Mabel climbed up into the front next to Soos.

Ford clapped his hands over his ears and gritted his teeth as Stan kept a tight grip on him; the further they moved from the ocean, the  _ more _ discordant it became; he found himself unable to think other than  _ needtogetbacktotheseaneedtogetbacktotheseaneedtogetbacktothesea-- _

And then suddenly the discordant sounds stopped, and it settled back into the siren’s song he was used to hearing as Ford came back to his senses with a gasp.

“Grunkle Ford?” Dipper asked, hesitant.

“She’s following us,” Ford said.

Stan stiffened. “You have got to be kidding me. How do you--”

“It doesn’t sound like nails screeching on a chalkboard in here anymore.” Ford pointed at his head. “And I don’t feel like I need to punch and kick my way out of this car to get back to shore.”

The others stared at him.

Mabel chuckled nervously. “Um. O-okay. Grunkle Ford, when Grunkle Stan said you were met and hypnotized by a siren, I didn’t think this would happen.”

Ford sighed irritably, rubbing his temples. “I should have expected something similar. Being dragged underwater and drowned or something similar, yes, but not being considered a  _ pet _ with a mental leash attached to the sea.” There was a growling rumble in his voice.

“You said the siren’s name was Adeline?” Dipper was paging through a book he’d pulled from his vest.

Ford felt a shudder run down his spine at the name. “Yes.”

“Mermando said she was a recluse who saw humans as creatures that didn’t know what they were doing.” Dipper looked up. “The fact that she’s  _ following _ us kinda goes against her usual MO.”

“Considering she seems pretty attached to Ford, I think that she just wants him back,” Stan said flatly. “So we gotta get this song outta Ford’s head before it does who knows what else to him other than turn him into a pile of putty every time she shows up.”

Ford didn’t look too happy at the comparison; he sighed irritably instead.

Mabel and Dipper exchanged worried looks.

“That doesn’t sound good, doods,” Soos said. “Hey -- you think this siren is gonna need water sometime?”

“They can’t live outside of water for long, so yeah,” Dipper replied. “She’s basically like an amphibian, but...more fish-y.”

“And human-y,” Mabel added.

“Yeah.”

“So, hypothetically, she could follow the river backwards up the coast to the lake in Gravity Falls?”

Ford heard the song in his head change key.

“I think that’s more than likely,” Ford muttered.

The others looked at Ford again.

“Lock Ford in the basement when we get back to the house?” Soos asked.

“Yup,” the others in the car responded at once.

Ford sighed. “So long as we can get this song out of my head, that’s fine. But we  _ need _ this spell reversed, or else….”

“Or else?” Dipper repeated nervously.

Ford swallowed. “Or else even without Adeline nearby, I fear her enchantment may overtake me completely.”

The fact that Ford had just admitted Ford was  _ afraid _ made the tension in the car increase tenfold.

“We’ll figure this out, Grunkle Ford!” Mabel exclaimed with determination. “We beat a dream demon last summer who set off the apocalypse, we can get this fixed too!”

Ford really hoped that they would be able to. Because otherwise, things could end up getting far worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A siren? In the Gravity Falls lake?
> 
> It's more likely than you think.
> 
> (can't resist a good meme)


	4. Learning about the Humans

Addi pulled herself up from the lake as she finally got her fins to turn into proper human legs. The fact that she wasn’t wearing anything didn’t bother her very much.

The fact that her pet’s brother was standing on the shore of the lake with a bundle of something made of human fabrics did, however.

“Yer not gettin’ to my brother,” Stan said.

Addi folded her arms. “He is my pet; I can call him if I wish, and he will come.”

“Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. Especially with where he is right now.”

Addi’s eyes narrowed.

“But, my niece wanted to meet you and see what exactly got into yer head to make my brother act like that. But you’re only gonna meet her if you put these on.”

Stan threw the bundle of fabric at Addi’s bare feet. Clothes -- human ones.

“Cover up,” Stan said. “Or else yer not gonna meet Mabel.”

At the mention of Mabel Pines, the one that she’d heard of throughout the mer world, Addi reluctantly considered her options and finally grabbed the fabric thing and threw it over her head. The length of human fabric slid down her arms and felt very uncomfortable against her body, and it was a terrible green color.

Addi gave Stan an irritated look. He folded his arms across his chest in response and raised an eyebrow.

“Is it safe?” called a girl’s voice.

“Yeah, pumpkin,” Stan called back. He didn’t take his eyes off Addi. “Remember what I told ya.”

“Sure, Grunkle Stan!”

A little human came down the path, with long hair and wearing a long-sleeved thing that didn’t look at all comfortable to Addi, with odd symbols on the front. She remembered that one of her previous pets had tried to carve her song into the wall of his cave and had called them “music notes.”

“Hi!” the human girl said cheerily. “I’m Mabel! You’re Adeline, right?”

Addi nodded. “I am, yes.” She wasn’t about to squeal about the adorable face the human had, _no she was not._ Mabel had the favor of the merman prince who had married the manatee queen -- taking _this_ one as a pet would only gain her ire from them.

Not to mention Stan was still glaring daggers at her.

“Why’d you take Grunkle Ford as a pet?” Mabel frowned. “I mean, he can take care of himself, and I know he’s really huggable and all….”

“Does it matter?” Addi frowned. “I wanted a pet and I chose him. That is all that matters. And now I am going to go and--”

She started to take a step forward, only to stumble and start falling to the ground. Much to her surprise, Stan caught her before her face could greet the dirt.

“Yer not goin’ anywhere,” Stan grunted, pulling Addi upright again with an arm around her waist. He moved his arm up to her shoulders. “And you’re _definitely_ not going near my brother.”

Addi frowned. “My pet needs me. You can’t keep him away from me forever.”

“I beg to differ.” Stan’s eyes were narrow, full of a certainty that made Addi roll her eyes. They would soon know that Ford would be unable to stay away forever. “He’s got his own life ta live, and I’m not about to let you run it.”

“And who are you to say what I can and cannot do? I’m older than you by--”

“I don’t care.” Stan cut her off with a glare. “What I do care about is what you’re doing to my brother. I’m putting a stop to that.”

“Hang on, Grunkle Stan.”

Addi frowned -- _Grunkle?_ \-- as she and Stan looked over at Mabel, who had been frowning in thought from the moment Addi had stumbled.

“Maybe we should, y’know, show her what we mean?” Mabel suggested. “Travel around town, look at what we can do on our own and -- I dunno, teach her a few things about human culture!”

Stan frowned. “I dunno, Mabel. Yer talkin’ about a fish-woman.”

“Mermaid,” Mabel corrected.

“Ford called her a siren an’ started--” Stan cut himself off when he saw the look Addi was giving him.

“He needs me,” Addi said.

“Only because of what ya did to his brain,” Stan replied. “He could handle himself well enough without whatever ya did ta him before.” He paused. “Ya know what? Let’s do yer idea, Mabel. Let’s see what Adeline thinks of our part of the world.”

Mabel’s eyes promptly _lit up_ with a sparkle that Addi thought was impossible for humans to have in their eyes normally. “Really?!”

“Yeah, yeah. Now how about we get this over and done with so that we can get Ford back to normal, huh?” He fixed Addi with a look. “And don’t do to anybody up here what you’ve done to him, or else yer gonna be answerin’ ta my fist.”

“And my grappling hook!” Mabel pulled the mentioned weapon out of her sweater and brandished it at the air with a wild grin that made Addi think of an overeager shark.

There was...something about the grin that suggested she knew how to use it, however, which was something that confused and surprised Addi.

“Are...human younglings supposed to be carrying weapons?” Addi asked.

“Depends,” Stan replied mysteriously. He grabbed Addi’s elbow and started leading her up the beach towards the offending land vehicle that had taken Ford away from the sea. “Come on, you. Let’s get back to town and start this whirlwind tour of Mabel’s.”

Addi’s bare, human feet stumbled against the ground as she attempted to keep up with Stan. She didn’t want to give any sort of indication that she didn’t know how to use them, but they felt strange and unnatural.

_How can humans move around on these things? Swimming is much easier._

They eventually reached the vehicle, and Addi was pushed into the back by Stan before he went around to the driver’s seat. Mabel climbed into the back next to Addi and buckled herself in, then stared at Addi until she slowly did the same.

“So!” Mabel looked between Addi and Stan as the engine revved to action; Addi made a disgusted expression at the sound. “What are we gonna do first, Grunkle Stan?”

“You’re the one who wanted to do this; you come up with the itinerary,” Stan grumbled in reply.

Mabel rubbed her hands together eagerly while Addi looked at the child with a curious expression. “Okay! We should probably start with Greasy’s Diner so that Adeline can have a human breakfast! Unless you can’t eat certain things cause you’re part fish. Can you?” Mabel looked up at Adeline with a curious expression.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to.” Addi frowned. “I have had pets bring food with them before.”

“Great! So you can try Susan’s coffee omelet!”

“Coffee…?”

“Nope,” Stan said. “We are not giving her anything like that. Pancakes, yes, coffee, no. I would rather have her keep up with us, not the other way around.”

“But Grunkle Stan--”

“No.”

Mabel seemed to take that as Stan’s final word on the matter, and she sat back in her seat with a huff. “Okay; fine. But then I get to show her how to knit.”

“See if I care,” Stan grumbled.

“Knit?” Addi repeated. “What is knit?”

Mabel gasped loudly. “Oh my gosh you are going to learn _so much_ about humans today. Stan, we’re gonna go to Soos’ house after the diner and show Adeline how to knit!”

“Yeah; sure.” Stan didn’t sound very enthused.

Addi blinked as she looked between the two of the them. She wasn’t sure _what_ to think of these humans -- and especially Mabel Pines, who had gained a good reputation with the merfolk of the neighboring kingdoms, but was...certainly far different from what she had been expecting.

She was expecting kind and compassionate to her situation of wanting her pet back, not bubbly and excited and eager to do things that Addi hadn’t been planning to do.

It didn’t take them long to reach the “diner” that Mabel had spoken of, or the collection of human buildings it was mixed in with. The number of humans out and about in the area was small, but that didn’t keep Addi from feeling like she had eyes on her as she was forced to lean on Stan in order to get up into the building called “Greasy’s Diner.”

“Well hello there!” called a woman from behind the counter. “Stan, who’s that lovely young lady who’s with you?”

“This is a siren who decided to hypnotize my brother,” Stan replied flatly. “We’re trying to get her to break the spell.”

“Oh, really? Well, I hope she does, because Dr. Pines makes the best gnome repellent in town!” The woman’s voice sounded cheery, but there was an underlying threat in her voice that Addi picked up almost on instinct.

“Don’t worry, we’re taking care of it!” Mabel piped up confidently. “And in order to do that, I’m showing her some stuff about human-ing! So can we have her try some of your pancakes, Lazy Susan?”

“Sure!” Susan slipped into the back of the diner, lifting and closing one of her eyelids as she went. “Wink!”

“Does that human only have one eye to use?” Addi asked as Stan guided her over to a table and made her sit down.

“Eh.” Stan shrugged. “She’s just got a lazy eye, that’s all. It’s not like she’s blind or deaf; she can still move around just fine.” His expression soured. “Hasn’t stopped the gnomes from tryin’ ta take her, either. They seem to really like her pies.”

“Gnomes?”

“Little people with beards and pointy hats,” Mabel explained as she sat down across the table from Addi. “They’re...kind of helpful? Sometimes? But mostly annoying. They’ve been looking for a queen for _forever,_ and they keep trying to take people at random to keep them in their gnome kingdom forever!”

Stan sent Addi a pointed look, but Addi ignored it.

“They’ve even come after me once! But after I showed them the leafblower, they left me alone.” The look that crossed Mabel’s face at her own words wasn’t exactly a friendly one, and it left Addi impressed, but confused.

“Leafblower…?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Stan muttered. Susan came out from the kitchen and slid three plates covered in...something that Addi hadn’t seen before.

She poked it with a finger. Soft and spongy, but covered in something sticky.

Susan laughed at Addi’s reaction. “You know how to use a fork and knife, sweetie? I mean, you can go ahead and eat pancakes with your hands, but that’ll cause a bit of a mess!”

Addi frowned at the things -- the “pancakes” -- and watched as Mabel and Stan picked up their fork and knife and started eating. “I know how to use table utensils; we aren’t impolite where I come from.”

Susan simply giggled at Addi’s response as the siren started to cut into her pancakes. “All right-y then! Let me know if you need anything!”

Addi watched the woman go, then took a bite of the pancakes.

**Time Break**

“Here we are!” Mabel waved to the house that Stan was bringing his car to a stop in front of.

Adeline looked up from licking her sticky fingers; Mabel that it was pretty sad that merfolk didn’t have syrup under the sea in the same way that they did, but she was glad that the siren had liked it so much. “Where is ‘here’?”

“Abuelita’s house,” Stan grunted. “She’s got a name, she just insists everybody calls her grandma for reasons I don’t really care about.”

“She is sweet and old and knows how to crochet, which isn’t quite knitting but it’s good enough for me!” Mabel declared. “I’ve been meaning to learn anyway -- come on, Addi! Can I call you Addi?”

“Yes; what--”

Addi was pulled out of the car with a yelp of surprise on her part and a strong yank on Mabel’s. In seconds, the two of them were making their way up to the front door of the house, Addi looking around at the lawn ornaments that Soos’ Abuelita had sitting out.

She started to pull up the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing.

“Hey!” Stan barked from the car. “You’re not taking that off! If you do, Abuelita’s gonna introduce you to underwear!”

Addi shuddered and let the shirt drop from her grip. Stan’s rather graphic description of women’s underwear was the only thing keeping the shirt on, something Mabel was glad of and...a little bit off-put about. He didn’t _need_ to make them sound like they were terrible.

Abuelita opened the front door and looked over Addi for a moment before looking down at Mabel. It was only when the two of them locked gazes did Abuelita’s usual, kind expression made its appearance.

“Hello, Mabel,” Abuelita said. “Soos said you were bringing a guest by today?” She looked over at Addi with a spark in her eye that could almost be called dangerous, causing Addi to stare back with wide eyes.

“Yup! This is Addi.” Mabel squeezed Addi’s hand in what she knew as a reassuring gesture. Did mermaids have similar things they did? “I just want to teach her a few things today, that’s all. Would it be okay if we were here for a while and did our yarn thing? You did say you were gonna teach me how to crochet!”

Abuelita’s expression brightened. “Of course! Come, come -- I shall have cookies ready soon.”

Abuelita led Addi and Mabel into the living room, then disappeared into the kitchen as Addi tried to make herself comfortable on the couch. She looked around at the pictures of Soos that hung from the walls in confusion.

“Is that her pet?” Addi asked Mabel.

Mabel snorted and waved off Addi’s question. “What? Nah, that’s her grandson! His name is Soos, and he’s awesome. He helps Grunkle Stan out at the Mystery Shack, and now he runs it!”

“Mystery Shack…?”

Abuelita came back in with a plate piled high with delicious cookies and a large basket of yarn under her arm. “It was Dr. Pines home first, when he came to Gravity Falls. Now he shares it with everyone.”

“Doctor?”

“Grunkle Ford,” Mabel explained. “He’s one of those science-y people -- and the only one who does that kind of thing around here.” She pulled a bundle of pink yarn out of the basket as Abuelita set it down between the couch and the armchair. “So, how does crocheting work? Do you need needles or--”

“No, no. No need for needles. I shall show you how to do it without.” Abuelita chose a dark blue bundle of yarn from her basket and started to unravel it, talking Mabel through what she was doing as she worked.

Addi, meanwhile, took a cookie from the plate on the coffee table and bit absently into it, watching the two of them work as her thoughts turned to other things.

Mabel wouldn’t have noticed if not for the fact that she was trying to gauge the size of Addi’s wrist. When she saw the look on her face, she grinned.

“Here!”

Addi jumped when Mabel tied the pink, braided bit of yarn around Addi’s wrist. Tied into the braid were little bits of shells and feathers that Mabel had been slowly collecting for her art projects.

“What….?” Addi looked at Mabel’s creation with a look of confused wonder.

“It’s a friendship bracelet!” Mabel explained cheerily. “Or, well, more of an acquaintance bracelet, since we don’t know each other well yet, but you get the idea! It means you don’t have to be lonely and kidnap other people for pets anymore, because you have us!”

Abuelita watched the exchange with her usual soft expression, but the spark in her eyes said “you do anything to break the heart of this girl and I break you.”

Addi blinked a couple times in confusion. “You...think of me as...a friend? But what about Ford?”

“Well, if you let him go we can consider it water under the bridge,” Mabel said cheerily. “Or water in the undercurrent or whatever you guys say. I’m sure the only reason you did that is because you’re lonely. Mermando said you were.”

Addi blinked at Mabel’s words, looking surprised and confused at Mabel’s words.

Abuelita went back to the yarn that was woven between her fingers and deftly finished the braid she had been working with. She could see when Mabel’s unseen power was working.

But if that siren resisted, well, she was only going to get the power of Gravity Falls, Never Mind All That Act or no. And the people of Gravity Falls were _very protective_ of their own.


	5. Revelations

If Ford had been thinking clearly, he would have been trying to get a  _ different _ song stuck in his head to slow down the siren’s enchantment, which had only sped up over the course of the day, considering how close Addi was in relation to his present position _. _

But he wasn’t thinking.

Vaguely, he  _ knew _ that he had other things he could be doing, he  _ knew _ that he was something else, but the enchantment the siren had bound him with had woven into his mind so tightly that the only thing he could think about was  _ the song. _

He  _ had _ to get to Addi. He  _ had _ to get someone to unlock the basement door from the outside so that he could get out of the house and get to the lake.

The song told him what he needed and his mind could do nothing but agree.

“Let me out! Please!” Ford had been pounding on the door for so long his knuckles were scraped and bleeding slowly. “I need to get out! Please!”

There wasn’t an answer. Vaguely, he remembered getting a promise out of Soos and Dipper to not let him out  _ no matter what _ , but that only made the song in his head swell in strength and he started pulling at the door even harder, grabbing the handle and slamming his shoulder into the door.

“Grunkle Ford!” yelled a voice on the other side, causing Ford to pause. “It’s Mabel! Are you okay?”

Ford sniffled. He leaned against the door. “Need to get out.”

“Grunkle Ford, you know we can’t do that. We don’t want to lose you.”

Ford felt a pang in his heart at Mabel’s voice, but then the song swelled again. “Mabel,  _ please.” _

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Grunkle Ford. I promise. I think we’re getting through to her! You’re gonna be okay!”

Ford didn’t answer. He leaned against the locked door behind him and slid down to the floor as the song in his head continued to pound against the sides of his head, trying and trying and trying to get him out of the basement and out of the house. He tucked his knees up against his chest and buried his face in them, losing himself in the song.

As if he wasn’t lost enough in it already.

On the other side of the door, Mabel pulled back from the entrance to the basement, worried. “...do you think Grunkle Ford’s gonna be okay?”

“He will be, pumpkin,” Stan replied. “We just...we just gotta hope that maybe another couple’a days and Addi’ll come to her senses an’ let him go.”

“Can I have a crack at her tomorrow?” Wendy asked from the cash register. “I’d  _ love _ to see the look on her face when I show her axe-throwing.” She grinned a little too widely for it to be nice. “Maybe I can show her some little trick-shots that Dr. Pines and I were working on before you went out on your boat trip at the end of last summer -- I know  _ he _ would like to know how far I progressed.”

“So long as you aren’t hitting her, I think that’d be fine,” Dipper spoke up from the floor. He’d made a nest of books there, and was frowning at one. “I don’t want to know what could happen if we got rid of the source without taking care of the problem in Grunkle Ford’s head. I mean, forcing it isn’t going to be a good thing, either -- he’s always gonna be drawn to going into the sea at least a little….”

“Keep working, Dipper,” Stan said. “If Mabel’s plan to bring that sea witch over to our side doesn’t work, we’re gonna have to go for a plan B.”

“I know.” Dipper made a face. “I just... I don’t want Grunkle Ford to--”

“Hey.” Stan knelt down in front of his nephew. “I think Ford’ll be okay if we do this as Plan B. He’ll understand.”

Dipper looked at his grunkle with a nervous expression, then nodded. “Okay. But I don’t know if we have much longer -- Grunkle Ford’s been….” His eyes trailed to the door. “He’s not himself.”

“...yeah.” Stan looked over at the vending machine. “I just hope that we can get this figured out before he breaks something.” He rose to his feet and patted Dipper through his hat. “Come on; let’s get dinner going and send something down to Ford before he hurts himself.”

“I’ll take you to Addi tomorrow,” Mabel said to Wendy.

“Looking forward to it.”

**Time Break**

It was about midnight when Ford dug his way out of the basement and scrambled out from under the porch. Despite the repairs made from that summer which hardly anyone spoke of, there was still some parts of the ground that had given way.

And now that he was out in the open, he could reach the siren whose song was intertwined with his mind.

Ford started humming the siren’s song softly as he walked away from the Mystery Shack without looking back. The night outside of his head was quiet, and if there were any creatures in his path, they skittered away as he went past, hiding in the trees.

At some point -- he wasn’t really paying attention as to when -- his voice dipped into a harmony with the song in his mind. It must have sounded off to those who couldn’t hear the melody, but Ford wasn’t thinking of others’ opinions.

His only focus was on the song and the siren it had come from.

It didn’t feel like it took him long to reach the lake. The moonlight reflecting off the calm water’s surface only made Addi’s own presence, draped over a rock with a proper merfolk tail, even more noticeable. The light gleamed off her scales as Ford drew closer, eyes clearly glazed and entranced as he continued to hum his quiet harmony.

Addi noticed him break through the trees and approach, and a relieved smile broke across her face and she motioned for Ford to come closer. “I knew you would find me.”

Ford approached and knelt next to the rock at the edge of the shore that Addi had chosen as a perch. She slipped her fingers in through his hair, and he leaned into it instantly. “Couldn’t stay away.”

“I know.” Addi giggled quietly. “I’m glad you came. I missed you.”

The song in Ford’s head said he felt the same way; he made a quiet noise and closed his eyes as Addi kept working her fingers through his curls.

Addi smiled at Ford’s response, but then her gaze moved to the yarn-and-shells “acquaintance bracelet” that was still wrapped around her wrist. She’d taken off the “shirt” as soon as Mabel and Stan had left -- it felt so  _ liberating _ to be out of it -- but she hadn’t removed the bracelet and for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why.

_ “Well, if you let him go we can consider it water under the bridge.” _

Addi frowned, then shook her head. No; Ford was  _ her _ pet; he needed her to keep an eye on him and make sure he was safe.

_ “Dr. Pines makes the best gnome repellent in town!” _

_ “He’s one of those science-y people -- and the only one that does that kind of thing around here.” _

Addi frowned as the voices from the daylight hours bounced around in her head. “Ford, pet?”

Ford looked up, expression glazed and blank.

“Are you a scientist?”

Ford blinked. “Why? Do you want me to be?”

“No, I -- I just -- before. Before I found you.”

Ford frowned, confused. “That doesn’t matter, does it?”

Addi wasn’t sure how to answer that. She remembered how people had talked of Ford in the diner, when she had been eating the pancakes. Mentioned that he knew “what lived in the woods and how to deal with them,” how he was the brother of a hero, how they were willing to protect the Pines and how they were willing to protect others...something about a “never mind all that act”....

Addi looked at the bracelet again as Ford continued to look at her with a confused expression. “Something about this...doesn’t feel right.”

Ford blinked, his expression changing to  worried confusion. “What?”

Addi looked at Ford. “Knowing the people that you’ve known...I can’t help but wonder if I made a mistake.” She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist, played with it with one hand.

Ford blinked again. He still looked confused, but there was something else in his eyes now -- a faint recognition.

The enchantment was meant to be strong enough to break off any and all connections to the world above the waves. Addi considered that for a moment.

“Your niece and your brother have said that you lived on your own for thirty years,” Addi said. “That’s a long time to be on the run, and alone.”

Ford’s eyes  _ sparked _ .

“Knowing that, I don’t know if I can say that you need me to care for you.” Addi pulled her hand away from Ford’s head. “I...I’ve been lonely, for so long. I suppose, after a while I thought that you humans were simply something to keep company. The first ones resisted, of course, but after a while I learned how to keep them in check.” Addi looked Ford over. “Now that...that I’m  _ here, _ and not where I was...I’m not sure if I need such things anymore.”

With every word Addi spoke, the song at the back of Ford’s mind was starting to struggle to keep up its volume, to hold back the memories that were trickling back into place: the portal, his brother, his  _ family _ , the very creatures he had run from and survived against.

Ford winced, putting a hand to his forehead as he attempted to stave off the headache. “Nngh.”

Addi looked at him with a guarded expression for a moment, then sighed. “You need to sleep. Being awake for this won’t help.”

That was the only warning she gave him before she started singing softly.

Ford turned his head to look at her sharply at the sound, blinking in pain-riddled confusion. Before he could have a chance to voice anything, however, his eyes grew heavy, and he flopped to the ground. In seconds, he was breathing deeply in sleep.

Addi sang for a few more seconds after Ford had collapsed, then let the song fade. She looked at him for a moment, then quietly shook her head and dove off the rock into the water.

**Time Break**

When Ford woke up the next morning, it took him a moment to realize he wasn’t on the boat,  _ nor _ was he barricaded into the basement. He quickly scrambled up to his feet and looked around at the shore of the lake, a confused expression on his face.

It felt like there was something  _ missing _ from his mind.

He scratched the back of his head, frowning. “Did I forget something…?”

He paused, blinking. His voice felt strange. He rubbed at his neck; his throat didn’t feel sore, nothing felt out of place, but…

“What happened?”

“Grunkle Ford! Grunkle Ford!”

Ford turned sharply at the sound of the voices and barely managed to keep his footing as Dipper and Mabel rammed into him, holding him tightly in a group hug.

“How’d you get out of the basement without unlocking the door?” Dipper demanded.

Ford’s brow furrowed. “I...think I dug my way out? From under the porch?”

Dipper’s eyes widened at that, and he let out a groan. “Of course. The hole I made when I was going after my 38-sided die!”

“Are you okay, Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked worriedly as Stan came out of the trees, still in his undershirt and boxers.

“I...I’m not sure. It feels like I’ve...forgotten something.” Ford looked around. “But I’m not sure what.”

“Forgotten something?” Stan came over. “Maybe it’s that the sea witch dragged you out here? Seriously, Ford, we’re gonna have to lock you up in the bunker this time if you keep finding ways out. I bet that song in your head is making you forget things.”

“Stanley, there are no doubt other ways out of the bunker now that I could find easily in my sleep; you can’t--” Ford stopped short, blinking in surprise as Dipper and Mabel yawned. “Wait.  _ The song. _ ”

“Yeah; the song is makin’ you forget,” Stan said impatiently. A yawn tried to slip past him, and he fought against it for a moment but it still managed to get out. “Come on, you, let’s get back to the house. Probably gotta get you to sleep a bit or--”

“Stanley,  _ I can’t hear the song anymore.” _

Stan stopped short and blinked in surprise. “What.”

“Sh-she did it?” Dipper asked, a hopeful spark in his eyes. “She lifted the spell?”

“It appears so.” Ford rubbed at his neck again. “Although, my voice feels strange.”

“It does sound more sing-y than it normally does.” Mabel yawned again. “It sounds really nice, Grunkle Ford.”

Stan snorted as Ford looked down at Mabel with surprise and an expression of concern. “Probably an after-effect of whatever that sea witch did to ya. Come on; let’s get back to the house. I’m gonna make us some Stancakes.”

“I’ll get right on looking up what sirens can do to people,” Dipper added. “I think I might have seen something about something like this in one of the books we’ve got back in the Shack.” He slipped out of the group hug with Ford and Mabel and started to run back to the house. Stan quickly followed after him.

Ford looked down at Mabel, who looked back up at him rather sleepily. He smiled a little and knelt down before scooping up his niece and carrying her back to the Shack.

At some point along the way, he found himself humming something familiar, and before Ford could catch up to Stan and Dipper at the house, Mabel had long since fallen asleep in his arms.

If he had looked back as he’d left the lake, he would have noticed a rather amused glint of a certain siren’s eyes watching from the surface of the lake.

“Well, it seems this won’t be the last time we see each other.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that thing where people who have been Taken by the Gentry often come back a little different?
> 
> :3


	6. Power in voices

After the fifth time that day that Ford’s voice caused the kids to head upstairs and take naps, Stan had had enough.

“Either you’re  _ not _ talking or we figure out a way to get the music out of your voice before you accidentally cause the whole town to go take a nap!” Stan frowned at Ford.

“Stanley, I--”

“Nuh uh, nope. Not a word out of you, Poindexter.”

Ford looked annoyed at the interruption, but he didn’t try and pick up where he left off as Stan rummaged around in the kitchen before coming back to the table with a notebook and pen.

“This’ll work for now.” Stan fixed his brother with a rather pointed look.

Ford sighed, then picked up the pen and wrote what he’d been  _ trying _ to say all afternoon. He turned the notebook around so that Stan could read his cursive writing clearly.

_ “I think this is an unforseen side-effect of Addi releasing her spell. People who have been Taken by magical creatures of one kind or another for any length of time longer than a few minutes usually show some change as a result of it. I would question that Mabel’s recent high addiction to sugar is the result of the gnomes, but you’ve said she’s exhibited that even before what happened at the start of that summer.” _

“What does Mabel’s sugar addiction have to do with the  _ gnomes?” _

Ford rolled his eyes and wrote in the notebook again.  _ “The Gnome Queen is known to be so sweet inside and out that no predator in the forest can resist going after her. The fact that Mabel consumes a large amount of sugar on a daily basis makes me think that being in the gnome’s presence and being considered their queen for even a short time might have caused it as a side-effect. Will have to ask Dipper if her addiction to sugar has only increased since that summer.” _

Ford tapped his written paragraph meaningfully, raising his eyebrows at Stan.

Stan frowned in response. “Well, she’s doing okay. At least she can also eat stuff  _ other _ than pure sugar. But what about you, though? I mean, every time you talk someone in this house is gonna fall asleep, and I bet the same thing’s gonna happen if you go out and do a lecture or something.”

Ford sighed and propped his head up with one hand. He shrugged.  _ “I’ll have to practice and find a way to separate the power in my voice from my speaking voice so that I don’t cause people to fall asleep when I don’t want them to.” _

“Well, yeah, but how are you gonna do that?”

“Perhaps I can be of some assistance?”

The two men turned sharply at the familiar voice, catching sight of Addi standing in the kitchen doorway in the oversized question mark shirt that Stan had thrown at her two days ago.

Ford moved out of his chair so fast that he knocked it over as Stan pulled out his brass knuckles.

“Assistance?” Stan repeated shortly. “You’ve  _ assisted _  enough already. First you turned my brother into a goddamned  _ pet _ and now you’ve--”

“He’s been Touched with magic, that’s all.” Addi huffed. “It’s nothing of  _ my _ doing; magic is a natural force that does as it likes. And mine seemed to think that you could do with something.”

Ford frowned at that. “I’ve been able to handle myself fine on my own. This isn’t any different.”

Stan started to look a little sleepy, but he shook it off and held up his fists. “Yeah. We don’t need your help.”

“Oh, please, like you can just use writing utensils to talk to each other for the rest of your lives.” Addi frowned. “You need to school your power into your singing voice. I can help with that.”

“And what’s the catch?” Stan snapped back.

“I just want a little company.” Addi shrugged. “It’s boring out at the lake all by myself. Why do you think I was getting pets in the first place?”

Stan and Ford exchanged looks.

“Give us a minute to talk about this.” Stan said to Addi. “Go wait by the lake or something.”

“No. Like I said, it’s lonely there.” Addi raised an eyebrow. “And I just might go after another human again.”

They exchanged looks again.

Ford motioned with his head towards Addi with a look on his face that suggested “we should take it.”

Stan frowned and shook his head; too dangerous.

Ford motioned to his neck, then up towards the floor above them; if they didn’t do something about it then the kids were going to end up going back to bed every few hours and he didn’t want to force them to do that.

Stan’s expression softened at that; then he scowled and sighed irritably. “All right; fine. But don’t pull anything funny on Ford or you’re gonna know how a certain triangle felt when his eye met one of these.” He held up his fist meaningfully.

“I’m not going to ‘do’ anything.” Addi rolled her eyes, but there was a slight spark of something in her eyes that suggested she wasn’t going to toe the line that Stan had put up. “We are going to need to be alone for a few hours. I doubt that you want to fall asleep for three hours straight again.” Addi gave a cheeky grin.

Stan’s scowled at Addi, then turned and walked out of the kitchen. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t get anything’s attention that you don’t want out there.”

“I’m bringing my gun with me,” Ford called after him.

“Yeah, sure. Do that.”

Ford looked back at Addi with a guarded expression as Stan left. Addi simply looked amused.

“Come on, lullaby,” Addi motioned for Ford to follow her out of the house.

“Lullaby?” Ford repeated.

“That’s your magic.” Addi hummed the song that had caused Ford to fall asleep before. “You can set others to sleep for however you wish. An hour, a day...even longer, if you so choose.”

Ford’s hand instantly went to his neck at that. “I...I can?”

“Indeed. Quite handy when trying to make sure that a kraken doesn’t wake as your ship passes over it.” Addi looked amused at the look on Ford’s face. “Or when I want my pets to actually sleep for once. The bags under your eyes are terrible, you know that?”

Ford dropped his hand at that, expression souring. “My sleep patterns are my own business, Adeline.”

“Well, they are now. While you have that singular ability, you can’t be put to sleep yourself. So nothing’s going to be able to sneak up on you and knock you out so easily.”

“...all right, I admit that this ability is useful, but if I’m causing my family to fall asleep every time I speak, that’s not very useful then, is it?”

“Relax. I’ll show you how to use it properly. It’ll simply take some time, that’s all.”

Ford grumbled something under his breath that sounded like something out of a minor key. Addi simply laughed in response.

When they reached the lake, Addi threw the shirt off and waded into the water far enough so that her lower half would shift to a fish tail. Ford made it a point to avert his gaze -- now that the enchantment wasn’t in the way, he felt that offering her privacy during her transformation from the waist down was a better idea than just outright staring.

_ She’s helping you control the power she accidentally gifted you with; it would be wise not to get on her nerves. _

Ford didn’t want to know what would happen if he angered a siren.

“You’re going to need to loosen up your voice first,” Addi called from the lake. “I assume you know how to do that much and have a few exercises in mind?”

Ford blinked at the statement and looked back over at Addi. “Ah...no, not really. I never really had the time for it.”

Addi looked annoyed. “Well, in that case, we’ll be working on that first. You sound like a bass, so transpose what you can and follow my lead.”

Ford swallowed nervously and nodded.

“Good. Now, let’s begin.”

**Time Break**

“Wait.” Wendy looked like she was starting to have a headache. “So, you’re telling me that the sea witch let Ford go last night, and he’s going  _ back _ to get  _ voice lessons?” _

“It’s either that, or he has to play the part of a mute for the rest of his life,” Stan replied. “Which, knowing Ford...he’s not gonna want to do that.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I guess he knows a whole new meaning to ‘talking people to sleep’ now.” Wendy’s mouth quirked up into a smile for a moment before she sobered. “So, what’s gonna happen now about that siren?”

“Well, Addi is -- as far as I know -- planning on sticking around at the lake. Ford said all she really wanted was company an’ she did the song thing to keep people there.” Stan frowned and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not sure if I believe that, but she’s the only person around here who knows what’s going on with Ford’s voice an’ how to help him deal with it. So we’ll just have to deal with  _ that _ until Ford can control it himself and he won’t  _ have _ to take lessons from her.”

“I hope that happens soon, because I think he’d rather stay  _ away _ from the person who tried to basically turn him into a dog.”

“Ehhh.”

Wendy frowned. “What.”

“You didn’t see what happened when we were on our boat. Before the sea witch incident, he’d practically throw himself off the ship every time we encountered anything remotely dangerous. I swear, it’s like his danger sense only encourages his curiosity. So if he’s being offered a chance to  _ learn _ about sirens from the sea witch….” Stan trailed off.

The redhead groaned when she got the rest of the message. “You have  _ got _ to be kidding me.”

“Nope. I bet if there was some weird, reality-warping monster out there, he would’a been torn between studying the thing and falling into madness or beating the heck out of it. We’re lucky we didn’t.”

Wendy looked like she wanted to hit her head against the counter repeatedly. “It must’ve been a miracle that he survived as long as he did.”

Stan snorted. “Y’know kid, sometimes I wonder that too.”

As if on cue, Ford came barrelling into the gift shop with an excited look on his face. He was soaked to the bone, but the light in his eyes clearly said he still had most of his sanity -- although even  _ that _ sanity was a bit questionable.

“Dipper!” Ford called. “The Gobblewonker is  _ real!” _

Dipper scrambled into the room from the living room. “It  _ what?! _ But I thought that McGucket--”

“He had to get his designs from somewhere, didn’t he? Addi’s found it and let me catch a glimpse -- I need to sketch this out! Come on!” Ford disappeared behind the vending machine, Dipper on his heels.

“Hey, wait for me! I wanna see it too!” Mabel quickly entered the gift shop and followed after them.

Stan and Wendy exchanged knowing, deadpan looks.

“Well, at least the good thing about all this is that Ford didn’t sound like he was gonna be putting anybody to sleep for a while,” Stan commented dryly.

Wendy snorted in amused agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as far as I can really plot things right now. I'd say it's a good ending spot, but I could add more later if I really felt like it.
> 
> Let's just say that, from now on, Ford can sing opponents to sleep so that he can get away from them or make sketches of them so that he doesn't have a chance of being eaten or poisoned or harmed in any way. You hear him singing in that deep bass of his out in the woods and start feeling sleepy, get ear plugs and go in closer to see what he's found.
> 
> Or, you know, try to catch him when he's singing without the power of lullaby in his voice and just enjoy.


End file.
